Matchmaking
by 3shells
Summary: SasuSaku. Post-Canon. It started with Ino's plan to get Shikamaru and Sakura together. Naruto, in a spirit of competitiveness, was adamant that his two best friends were a match made in heaven. In which Sakura was exasperated, Sasuke was emotionally stunted, and Naruto was a bad planner.


**Summary** : It started with Ino's plan to get Shikamaru and Sakura together. Naruto, in a spirit of competitiveness, was adamant that his two best friends were a match made in heaven. In which Sakura was exasperated, Sasuke was emotionally stunted, and Naruto was a bad planner.

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto.

**Author's Note** : I must say that it has been fun attempting to write this fic. Well, enjoy and happy reading! :)

* * *

Naruto was merrily gulping down his fourth bowl of ramen when he received the most devastating shock of his life.

He did not mean to eavesdrop, really. The former object of his affection and her best friend were leisurely strolling around the streets of downtown Konoha that morning, occasionally stopping to admire the fresh produces sold on the marketplace. It was purely accidental that they were completely engrossed in that discussion in front of Ichiraku, allowing him to overhear.

"I didn't expect you to like Shikamaru, Forehead," Ino teased, her smirk spreading as a rosy blush started dusting the pink-haired girl's cheeks.

"Sssh, Pig! Not so loud, everybody could hear you."

Sakura scowled. She did not like the implication of her friend's statement. Carefully scanning the many passing faces of shinobi around, she desperately hoped nobody she knew was in close vicinity. With so many loudmouths residing in the village, rumors, especially about relationship, could spread like a wildfire.

"And I don't like him; I just think he's cute," the emerald-eyed Jounin mumbled.

"What? They're the same!" Ino huffed. "Have you asked him out yet?" she enquired enthusiastically, not even having a decency to lower her voice.

Sakura whipped her head towards the blue-eyed kunoichi, eyes as wide as saucers. Lips tightening to portray her irritation, she threw a hard glare to her best friend.

Ino pouted.

Sakura crossed her arms. "Anyway, I'm a girl, so there's no way I can do that."

Trust Sakura to be so traditional, the Yamanaka in question frowned. In this era of gender equality, nobody would've cared whichever side of the couple made the first move.

"But if you like him..."

"For the millionth time, I don't like Shikamaru!" Sakura threw her arms in the air, clearly frustated. "And we are never talking about this again, Pig," the medic-nin continued with an air of finality, silencing the blond.

Sakura was starting to regret telling Ino about how making a list of the cutest shinobis in their age group used to be her favorite pastime. Sasuke was, as anticipated, rated number one.

Ino, however, looked like Christmas had come early when she found out who the runner up on that lineup was.

Shikamaru! Her lazy, cloud-loving teammate!

Eyes twinkling with unsuppressed glee, her brain clicked into gear, contemplating thousands of methods on how to get them together.

How can she not realize how impeccable they would be together? Sakura and Shikamaru! Imagine how intelligent their children would be, with Shikamaru's extraordinary IQ and her best friend's notorious book smart.

"Oooh, if they ever have children, I'm so definitely going to be their godparent!" she pondered, squealing inwardly as visions of pineapple-haired, emerald-eyed children began raiding her mind. And with that, she vehemently centered the entire conversation on Sakura's unprecedented feelings for the brilliant strategist.

Leaving poor Sakura desperately wishing for an ear plug as Ino's endless prattles of how seemly she and Shikamaru would be for each other was getting irksome.

She sighed.

She was certain that even after she had threatened the blonde to dismiss the subject, Ino would never relent in persuading her to pursue a closer relationship with the genius.

Shuddering, she dreaded the thought of Ino blabbering her completely erroneous crush to Shikamaru. With her infamous reputation as the loudest busybody in Konoha, she wouldn't be surprised if the tale about her supposed infatuation with the Nara heir would've circulated throughout the whole village by the next day.

_And Sasuke-kun would find out._

How mortifying.

She wished she could've dug a pit and die.

* * *

To say that Naruto was horrified was an understatement of the century. Eyes widening in comical horror, he kept on gawking even after the two girls had left the area. Even after he could not catch their conversation anymore.

_Sakura-chan? Shikamaru? Hell no!_

"Sakura-chan was supposed to end up with Sasuke-teme." Naruto scoffed, sulking at the thought of his teammate's fascination with another guy. He had been wishing fervently for them to get together since team 7 had been reinstated two years ago. With Naruto already courting the shy, sweet-tempered Hyuuga not long after the Fourth Shinobi War, he truly wished Sasuke and Sakura could find happiness in each other.

Sasuke was the only person he could ever really trust to look after his Sakura-chan. On the other hand, the ex-missing-nin's heart had been shattered to pieces, all owing to his battered and tragic past. Naruto had the utmost confidence that solely Sakura possessed the capabilities to mend it, alleviate his sorrow until he was capable of loving again.

Whereas Naruto and Sasuke had immediately reformed their past bond after team 7's reinstatement, the entire process of patching up Sasuke and Sakura's relationship was filled with hardships.

Sasuke had been cold and withdrawn, not used to interacting with her after years of solitude, of isolation. Sakura had been skittish and timid, memories of being strangled to death still fresh on her mind that it was difficult for her to completely trust him.

It took practically a year until they had been able to settle into a pleasant, if slightly unconventional, relationship. With Naruto's strategic pretext to spend some quality noontime with Hinata after their weekly team spar, Sasuke and Sakura were often left alone to grab some lunch together.

The sight of them walking on the street towards their chosen venue to have lunch, side by side, always had Naruto prancing in delight. Then and there, the only female member of their cell would bring some homemade bentos, never forgetting to include the onyx-eyed shinobi's favorites: onigiri with okaka and tomatoes.

The transition from friendship to something conceivably more happened a couple of months after, at least for his unsociable and emotionally withdrawn teammate. Due to his quiet personality, Sasuke's change of demeanor around the girl wasn't the most abrupt or over the top if one wasn't paying a close attention.

Naruto, contrary to popular belief, had always been observant.

Especially when it involved two of the most important people in his life.

The blonde-haired Jounin had been overjoyed when he first caught Sasuke directing a longing gaze towards Sakura amidst their training. Watching the two shinobis interact like a hawk, Naruto could've sworn he detected a small twitching of Sasuke's lips in what looked like a fond smile whenever Sakura laughed.

If those were not any indications of Sasuke's burgeoning fixation on the medic-nin, then Naruto was sure him correcting Sakura's taijutsu stance before awkwardly offering to help her train definitely counted.

_Teme? Helping a girl train?_

_No way in hell._

_Sasuke-teme's in luuurveee._

Now, however, it seemed the tables might have turned.

Naruto frowned. "Just when Teme's finally enamored with Sakura-chan, too."

Judging from bits of the girls' conversation, though, Sakura seemed adamant in denying her feelings for Shikamaru.

But one can never be too sure…

What if she suddenly decided that she liked a lazy genius better than a cold, brooding shinobi?

"This is outragous! Catastrophic!" Naruto panicked, the sudden revelation making his stomach churned anxiously.

Damn it, he would not let Ino throw his two best friends' budding relationship under the bus by suddenly adding Shikamaru to the calculation.

He needed to do something, quick.

With his infamous aloofness and taciturn bearings, God only knew how much time it would take for Sasuke to even attempt to woo Sakura. Naruto was not even sure his best friend even knew how to pursue a girl, considering how emotionally constipated the Uchiha had been.

Nah, a bit of meddling here and there was definitely required.

_Just to make sure Sakura-chan wouldn't be stolen away!_

With a newfound determination, the self-proclaimed future Hokage hastily stoop up, all thoughts abandoned as he started to march to his first destination.

He had a mission to complete!

...

"Oi, Naruto! You haven't paid for your ramen!"

* * *

When persistent knocking sounded from his door, Sasuke had been absorbed in a mission scroll, sitting on the dining chair and munching on a piece of his favorite fruit-cough tomato cough. Detecting the Dobe's chakra outside his modest apartment, he was earnestly tempted to ignore his existence and continued with his work.

Frankly, the raven-haired Jounin had a hunch that for whatever it was Naruto came for, it spelled trouble.

"Teme! Open up!"

He was sure his longtime rival's loud yapping could be heard echoing throughout his entire apartment complex. The pounding on his door never halted either, signaling his impatience. Sasuke just hoped he would not receive any complaints from the neighbors, again, courtesy of the loud blond.

He sighed in exasperation, reluctantly making his way to open the door. Naruto was being even more annoying than usual, if that was even possible.

"What do you want, Dobe?"

Not even bothering to respond, Sasuke's eyes grew imperceptibly when all Naruto did was chuck a bunch of red roses to his face.

"The. Hell." He gritted out in disgust, all the while pushing the brightly colored flowers away from his line of sight.

Naruto's mouth hung wide in shock as the mental image of what his action implied suddenly dawned on his mind.

"No, no, no, no! I think you're cool and all, Teme, but I don't swing that way!" He spluttered frantically while taking a step backwards. Face twisted in what seemed like an emotional turmoil, Naruto shoved his right hand and the bouquet behind his back. He'd need to hide that; he'd be traumatized if the thought of giving Sasuke roses ever invaded his brain again.

"Hn."

Schooling his face into its usual blank façade, Sasuke folded his arms, then raised his eyebrows in his usual gesture of asking: _So? What do you want?_

Naruto sighed in frustration, silently cursing Sasuke's inability to speak properly. With a communication skill reminiscent of that of a mute, the blue-eyed Uzumaki was sure no woman could ever withstand having a romantic relationship with Uchiha Sasuke.

_Well, except for Sakura-chan, of course. _

"Teme, you've got to stop that! You've been acting like an iceblock that now Sakura-chan has decided to replace you with Shikamaru," Naruto exclaimed, putting his empty left hand in his hip to further emphasize his disapproval. He realized he was exaggerating, with how Sakura hadn't really confirmed her crush on the leader of Team 10 yet.

But hey, anything would suffice if would help prod Sasuke into action, Naruto reasoned.

_Sakura? _

_Shikamaru? _

The Uchiha stiffened. He did not like where this was going. No, not at all.

Smirking at Sasuke's apparent distress over the information, Naruto continued his ramblings, "You don't want Sakura-chan to be taken away, right, Teme? What if she never comes to our training again?"

Silence.

"Do you know that he's been in an on and off relationship with Temari? What if he's planning on two-timing her?!"

More silence.

"God, what if he breaks her heart?"

...

_Sakura, the only girl he could have loved. Possibly already love. _

_Sakura, crying over Shikamaru._

He snapped.

Sensing a sudden killing intent emanating the area, undoubtedly coming from his best friend, Naruto inwardly snickered.

_Gotcha._

"I'll kill him," Sasuke hissed disdainfully, fists clenching in an uncontrollable rage. It was almost wondrous that his Sharingans did not activate themselves with such a blatant display of wrath.

"You can't. Sakura-chan will hate you if you do that," the blonde easily retaliated in a sing-song voice.

When all he responded with was a noncommittal grunt, Naruto readied himself to begin the second stage of his plan.

"But I've got a plan."

Ears perking up in disbelief, Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he had grown a second head.

Sasuke admitted that Naruto may be an accomplished shinobi and a war hero. Nobody would've challenged the fact that he was one of the most influential ninjas in the country. However, a wonderful planner he was not. It's unanimously accepted, like how people acknowledged that Kakashi was always late, Jiraiya was a pervert, and Tsunade was a bad gambler.

A vision of Hinata's disastrous birthday party last year, in which Naruto had been attempting to surprise his sweetheart, flashed through his mind. Knowing the timid kunoichi's fondness of animals, the Rasengan user had enthusiastically brought not one, not even ten, but fifty untrained nin-dogs to her house.

Not even Kiba had been able to restrain the chaos that ensued.

Thus end the story of how Naruto had been banned to enter the Hyuuga compound.

Clenching his jaw, this time the raven-haired shinobi knew he did not have any choice. Letting Sakura walk out of his life without at least making any effort was never even an option.

She was too important to him to let go.

Sasuke sighed. He had made many bad decisions since severing his bond with Konoha.

He just hoped that trusting Naruto's plan would not be another one.

* * *

Sakura had just finished her afternoon shift at the hospital when he appeared at her office, looking more glum and disgruntled than usual.

"Shikamaru? What's wrong?" Sakura lamely blurted out, attempting her face to keep its nonchalant façade. Gearing herself for a barrage of love rejections she did not even need, the kunoichi could not help but ask, "Did Ino say anything to you?"

"Troublesome…" The strategist mumbled noncommittally, nervously scratching the back of his neck.

Sakura stiffened, frowning as a sudden apprehension of what the blonde had planned passed through her mind. After she threatened her just a few hours ago.

_Remind me to kill Ino later._

"Shikamaru, trust me. I don't like you. Not like that, at least," Sakura retorted bluntly, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "It was just Ino and her ploy at matchmaking again."

The Nara heir was, seemingly, persuaded, if the way he suddenly lit up like a light bulb was of any indications.

"Thank God. Ino asked me to take you out on a date," Shikamaru, whose stance immediate relaxed after hearing her exclamation, breathed a sigh of relief.

Sakura smirked knowingly. When it came to her teammates, Ino never asked. She demanded, whining and nagging until she got what she wanted. Only God knew how tenacious she could be.

Feeling a bit remorseful for involving the Nara heir into this mess and possibly giving him a major headache from dealing with the blonde Yamanaka, Sakura was keen to make amends. Possible she could invite him over for dinner?

"Let me make it up to you. I was planning on making tempura udon this evening. Why don't you come over?" The pink-haired girl winked good-naturedly, muffling her laugh as his ears seemed to perk up comically. She figured this might be one of the perquisites of having a loudmouth as a best friend, as Sakura knew every nook and canny of Team 10's personal life. That, of course, included Shikamaru's fondness for this particular dish.

When the shinobi accepted her offer, Sakura was feeling reasonably better, if still a bit distraught, pondering the likelihood of the gossip spreading to her stoic teammate.

After a long year of awkward interactions, their relationship had finally progressed into a rather comfortable companionship. The pink haired girl had been trying really hard to move on, all the time reminding herself that the aforementioned menacing shinobi would only ever saw her as a friend.

But their recent closeness had thrown her plan on a loop. Being in such a close proximity with him had brought the familiar fluttering on her stomach. Butterflies seemed to have permanently resided in it these day.

And contrary to his blatant rejection of her feelings in the past, Sakura saw a glimmer of hope in that the usually aloof Uchiha was slowly, steadily, starting to open up. For the past few months, he had been acting uncharacteristically gentle, dare she say, almost affectionate, towards her.

Sakura did not want their newly blossoming, delicate relationship to be destroyed by a single rumor.

She groaned.

_Ino really owed me for this._

* * *

Sasuke shifted his feet, awkwardly standing in front of Sakura's apartment door with a scowl, yet to muster enough guts to knock. Naruto's foolproof plan had involved him snatching Sakura's heart back by showering her with heaps of presents and taking her out on an awesome date. Operation G.S.B, he had delightedly campaigned, Get Sakura Back!

Yeah, right.

Considering Naruto's advice on gifts included a freaking diamond ring, it was more like Operation Get Sasuke Broke.

Naruto's idea of a date was, additionally, equally preposterous. Who would want to have a date at Ichiraku? Except maybe his Hyuuga girlfriend, who was too polite and captivated by Naruto to even bother to complain.

Sasuke scowled as he once again replayed his argument with Naruto on his mind. The Sharingan user had blatantly declined to entrance Sakura in such an avaricious manner. Being a practical girl, she had little interest in extravagant jewelries, anyway, preferring to spend money on weaponries or medical supplies.

He also refused the red roses the blond had bought, unsurprisingly never being a big fan of such romantic gestures.

"It won't be a date without flowers, Teme," Naruto had persisted, huffing and whining in frustration, ranting about how his flowers would come to a waste.

Sneering at the glaringly vibrant flowers with unconcealed disapproval, Sasuke mentally scoffed. No way in hell would he ever be seen holding a bouquet of red roses.

The onyx-eyed shinobi was so adamant about his decision that the blue-eyed shinobi was forced retort to another strategy.

"Sakura-chan adores flowers, you know."

A pause.

"Hn."

With that, the Uchiha reluctantly conceded, not before throwing a murderous expression to his longtime rival.

Reaching an agreement that the best venue for the date would be the newly opened teppanyaki place she had been dying to try out, Naruto had sent Sasuke off to Sakura's apartment complex in the evening with a startlingly unnerving threat of hell if ever hurt his poor Sakura-chan. Snickering loudly, the blonde shoved the flowers to his hands before giddily sauntering off; he had a dinner date with Hinata-chan at Ichiraku.

"I'm counting on you, Teme! Don't you dare mess things up!" Naruto yapped one last time, his voice invoking an unsettled expression across Sasuke's face.

Now, he almost regretted agreeing with the Dobe's plan.

Grimacing, he inwardly cursed. How was he supposed to ask Sakura out?

* * *

She was plating her tempura udon, pleased by how her attempt of a new recipe had been marvelously successful, when she heard a knock on the door. Lips twitching to form a small smile, Sakura strode over to the front door, fully expecting to see the pineapple haired ninja waiting lazily at the hallway.

Her eyes marginally expanded.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Overwhelmed with concern as Sasuke seldom visited without sporting a fatal injury, Sakura had fretted over the ex-missing-nin almost hastily. Scanning his body for any signs of wounds, but founding none, she raised a questioning glance towards her teammate.

Raking a hand through his spiky raven hair, the Uchiha lowered his face, looking almost uncomfortable.

_Huh. Weird._

Scowling inwardly, she wondered if this was one of Naruto's imprudent shenanigans. Did Naruto foolishly decide to prank her by henge-ing and acting like Sasuke? Judging by the hardened expression on his face and the frown gathering between his brows though, Sakura doubted that, this was a typical nervous Sasuke demeanor. Naruto simply didn't have an ounce of skill in acting so indifferently, she mused.

Amidst the confusion, she graced him with another stare. It was then that she spotted the bouquet of red roses grasped tightly in his left hand.

Emeralds growing fractionally, her heart started hammering uncontrollably on her chest.

"Why are you here?" She mumbled in a hopeful tone, stealing glances at the bouquet with barely suppressed anticipation.

Giving a noncommittal grunt, Sasuke slowly raised his head, giving her a long, straight, and intense gaze that she felt her heartbeat started to accelerate even faster, if that was even possible, and her cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment. He then proceeded to shove the flowers to her, before muttering almost inaudibly.

"For you."

It would have been downright romantic if the stoic Uchiha didn't say it in his usual gruff, apathetic, manner.

Sakura didn't mind though. Sasuke wasn't known for being affectionate. His prior anxiety had evidently proven the weight of her existence in his life, how significant she had been for him to be so edgy, so anxious about her reaction.

With how he had been so remotely detached to social interaction in the past, she figured in normal people glossary Sasuke's current gesture would have equaled an undying confession.

Softness enveloping her expressive emerald eyes, the sole female member of team 7 directed a beaming smile towards Sasuke before raising her hand to slowly accept the roses.

"This is such a lovely bouquet. It smells wonderful, too." Sakura grinned appreciatively before proceeding to bring the flowers closer to inhale more of its lovely fragrance.

Anxiety seeped out of his system at the sight of her smiling so radiantly.

Sasuke smirked.

_For once, the Dobe's right after all._

Before she was suddenly enveloped in a continuous sneezing fit, nose unhealthily red.

"Umm... It seems I'm allergic to roses, Sasuke-kun."

_Or not._

Eyes growing imperceptibly in panic, Sasuke had promptly grabbed the roses from her hand, all the while muttering under his breath about how he was so going to murder the Dobe later.

"It's okay, I'll be fine," the vivacious woman assured almost immediately, scrunching her nose to muffle another sneeze. "I'll just take some allergy medications later."

"I'm sorry."

Gazing at her with an unrepentant stare, a flash of badly suppressed remorse shifted on his face.

Sakura's heart sank.

He had sounded so guilty and looked so dismayed that the desire to comfort him had pushed any embarrassment for what she was about to do out of her mind.

Edging closer to the unmoving Uchiha, Sakura lifted her hand, thumb caressing the curve of his cheek with every gentleness she could muster.

He froze.

Sasuke flicked his head down, realizing that Sakura's deep emerald eyes were gazing at him with so much longing, so much yearning, so much love that it almost took his breath away.

And he was captivated.

He was slowly, helplessly captivated.

No longer able to deny the sudden thirst of contact brought about by their close proximity, Sasuke covered her smaller hand with his larger one, before slowly leaned in to close the distance between their lips.

"Sakura?"

Shikamaru, it seemed, had the uncanny ability to pop up at the most inappropriate time.

Startled, spell shattered due to the interruption, both members of team 7 had jumped back, trying hard to look at anything but each other.

Sakura did not think she had ever blushed that hard in her entire life.

"Err… Should I come back later?" The Nara had inquired sheepishly, scratching his neck while looking slightly embarrassed.

Sasuke stiffened as he caught sight of Shikamaru. The air surrounding them, it seemed, had grown into something impeccably darker due to sudden the killing intent roiling off the handsome Uchiha.

"What are you doing here?" The lethal growl suddenly alerted Shikamaru of the furious glare Sasuke had been directing his way.

He shivered.

Damn, if looks could kill, the Uchiha would be a perfect weapon of mass destruction.

Fighting the urge to smack himself on the head for his unbelievably terrible timing, the lazy shinobi flinched before throwing his arms in front of his body defensively. "Sakura just invited me over for dinner."

"WHAT." Sasuke bit out, gritting his teeth.

"Wait, wait! It didn't come out right. Sakura just invited me as a friend, Ino made up the thing about Sakura liking me!"

Oh.

Onyx eyes widened, mind spinning to recall a certain conversation regarding Sakura's crush on Shikamaru with...

_The Dobe!_

A sudden sneezing spree interrupted Sasuke's ranting.

"Mmm, Sasuke-kun, Shikamaru, I think I need to take some medicine first," Sakura said in a muffled voice, trying to prevent another sneeze from escaping. "Please come in," she gestured towards her apartment, before latching down the handle and opening the door.

Shikamaru sauntered in, thanking the Gods for giving him a chance to narrowly escape death's door. Trust Ino to entangle him in this annoyingly troublesome situation, he sighed.

Sasuke disgruntledly followed, vowing that by the end of today a name would be added to the Konoha Memorial Stone.

Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Sakura did not know how she ended up in her current situation, sitting awkwardly on the dining table beside the man she loved and across the man people thought she was enamored with, miserably rubbing her nose to stave off a sneeze. The only one seeming to nonchalantly enjoy her tempura udon was Shikamaru.

Sasuke, unsurprisingly, had been too busy brooding, possibly preoccupied with envisioning hundreds of ways to possibly kill Naruto to actually savor the dish.

Sakura sighed. She, on the other hand, was pondering with what could have happened if Shikamaru had not interrupted the moment before. Just the thought of kissing Sasuke was making her head woozy with embarrassment and her heart to gallop erratically.

But...

_What if it was just a spur of a moment thing? _

She didn't think her heart could take being crushed by the same man over and over again.

Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. Regardless of his feelings for her, she was desperately seeking closure. Her unrequited love for him had lasted too long, etched far too deep in her heart. And it was agonizing.

She would never be able to move on without a proper rejection.

It was then that Sakura decided she would confess to him.

For the very last time.

* * *

Straightaway after dinner, Shikamaru had made of some lame excuse of having to meet the Hokage for a mission report and leave. Dealing with an emotionally unstable Uchiha was, after all, too troublesome.

Thus leaving the beautiful young girl alone with her longtime object of affection, standing before each other in the dining room.

"So," She muttered hesitantly, shifting her feet one to another. "You know that I don't really like Shikamaru, right?"

"Hn."

Sighing at the monosyllabic reply, she looked straight at the apathetic boy, penetrating him with a half dejected, half exasperated look.

"Sasuke-kun, you know that I've loved you for a long time, right?"

"Aa."

"And you know that I still love you, right?" She pestered.

"Aa."

If he was surprised by her admission, he sure was doing a good job in hiding it. Dejected by his lack of response, Sakura felt hope crumbled and geared herself for the familiar bombardment of disappointment that always came with Sasuke's rejection.

_Just like in my Genin days._

"Well, I've decided I don't want to love you anymore," she said hollowly, agony flashing across her eyes.

"What?" Sasuke scowled, a small frown wrinkling his brow.

"I want to move on."

Onyx eyes narrowed.

Sakura felt as if her heart were breaking. It took everything she had to bite back a sob of anguish. It was too hard not to cry, and she slowly, painfully crumbled, droplets of crystalline tears starting to leak from her twin emeralds.

His stomach took a dive. It was then that Sasuke decided he hated seeing Sakura cry. Seeing her there, crying, sobbing, and trembling hurt more than getting stabbed in the chest in the most deadly way.

"Sakura…"

Her head snapped up in shock, as if forgetting his presence amidst her emotional turmoil. Taking a step back, she fully intended to run to her room, willing herself not to break, not to crack before him.

Seeing her attempting to turn away, Sasuke hastily stride to mere inches before her and enveloped her body in a tight hug.

"Don't be with anyone but me."

"W-what?" Sakura stuttered, tears forgotten, completely dumfounded to think of a reply. He had been so close, so near that she could feel his warm breath on her skin.

"Be with me, Sakura."

_Don't leave me._

_Please._

Pushing herself back slightly to look at him, Sakura was dazed at the blatant desperation and longing clouding his beautiful dark eyes. In a gesture reminiscent of how she had comforted him, he wiped the tears staining her milky cheeks, caressing with such tenderness that her heart stumbled.

Her mouth went dry. Her throat tightened. Her legs felt like jelly.

And then slowly, slowly, relief began to wash through her body like a scalding wave.

_He cares about me._

_He really does love me._

Happiness glimmering in her chest and head dazzled with giddiness, Sakura giggled before pulling him closer, proceeding to wrap her hands tightly around the back of his neck and bury her face in his shoulder.

It felt perfect.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…"

He grunted, hands moving from her still tear-streaked face to settle down on her waist. Then he leaned back to raise a questioning brow at her.

"I love you."

He smirked before finally, finally, closing the distance between their lips and pressed his lips on hers.

"I know."

* * *

"So how was it, Teme? Where did you and Sakura-chan go? How did it go? Was Operation: G.S.B a success? Did you get laid?" Naruto snickered, wiggling his brows while barraging a multifold of questions in a vexing tone.

Sasuke cracked his knuckles.

Uh oh.

Naruto went as pale as a sheet.

"You've got 5 seconds to run, Dobe."

And that ends the tale of how Uzumaki Naruto was put into the Guinness Book Record for being the fastest sprinter in the world.

* * *

**Author's Note** : It's a bit too fast-paced for my taste, but I was actually really dying to make it a one-shot.

Read and review! Constructive criticism makes me happy. :)


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